Morning journal and courier., 1887-05-27
THE GOOD OLD DAYS.
How Yale Oarsmen Enjoyed Them
 selves Once.

ial trains ffor the accommodation of persons desirous of witnessing the regattas by the boat clubs of Yale and Harvard colleges. First regatta at Center Harbor Tuesday, August 8. Second regatta at Wolfboro' Thursday, August 5. Dated at Concord, July 26, 1852. James N. Elkins, agent" AS soon as the paper was fairly open facts and events long forgotten crowded freshly into mind. Memory of the occasion revived and quickly became active. This frolic was remembered and that funny incident was re- enjoyed, SO that before I knew it was again student boy of twenty standing on the lake shore at Center Harbor, Illuminating space with coruscations from immaculate duck trowsers and from white flannel shirt dis. tinguished with the blue U on one breast
 and the now much honored figures of '53 on
 the other. And then that walk! that drive!
 that trout supperl that serenadel
 Now if an indiscreet rowing-man asks how
 many years ago all these things happened,
 shall decline to answer such questions, and
 resolutely refuse to enter upon calculation
 of the years that have elapsed since the tine
 when reading that sHne poster gladdened my
 or our eyes and made our hearts beat with
 responsive thumps. Student athlete oars
 men of to-day, with the latest thing in mod
 el boat houses and trainers, floats, shells and
 steam launches, need not fancy that they
 now enjoy original and exclusive use of the
 ever changing but mainly agreeable experi-
 ences connected with rowing, and they may
 accept without hesitation the word of an old
 boy for this statement. And while they
 content themselves as they lest can with this
 explanation, they may rest assured that they
 do not possess one boating beatitude or
 aquatic excitement of which we fathers of
 the existing navy have not tasted and feasted
 our fill.
 I myself we'll remember, as we pulled
 down to the old lighthouse on steady
 t'breather" against wind and tide, how the
 salt spray used to fly and just how wet was the touch of the brine. can even now feel wind-hurried regulation "comber' slip easily and familiarly aboard, splash over shoulder and hair, inundate ear and neck and go rushing down my back, drenching and sopping the special and very particular spots where in these days crieks and kinks are per
 
 frisky visitations of rheumatism are excep- tionally energetic.
 Although at that time there existed no un- iversity boat-house with commodious space and cool piazzas, yet the very first Yale club 1 boat "Shawmut"- eight oar barge painted bright red, belonging to '52-fared well enough when simply made fast to stake on the northern side of the present steamboat dock at Tomlmsons bridge, until certain stormy night scattered the well-worn plank ing and her many seasoned old ribs on the swift-running tide.
 The writer was one of syndicate who built ''Undine,' which, like Shawmut, was an eight-oar barge and became the historic second club-boat of the Yale navy Undine was stauneh, straightforward, rough-water craft, with plenty of 'sheer" and an excel- | lent 'srun," and was as unlike a modern ''sheIl' as boat could we'll be made. She took matters as they came by riding in the open, and when tired of romping with the wavelets reclined at full length upon the bed of soft mud near the boat building estab- lishment of Brooks & Thatcher, from which she was launched.
 l At noontime on 8 certain day there was a memorable muster of our club. After due notice that an important meeting was to be held at close of recitation we crowded about the desk in excited and eager expectancy. Our captain had the pleasure of reading the poster here above referred to, amid stunning surprise and to the running obligato accom- paniment of enthusiastic exclamations. Our captain also stated that, in an interview with the agent, it had been arranged that if we wished to golf we wished to go! our boats were to be taken from salt water here and to be launched on the fresh water of the lake without trouble or expense to us-that free tn al f0r our ffsupes"-that we were to row two races on alternate days and to gratify the crowd assembled with glimpse of our perfections in an exercise pull on each forenoon-that five successive dinners were to be served daiIy-that we were to be the guests of the house, in fact the lions of the show-that billiards and bowling alleys were to be re- served for our exclusive use, free of every charge, and at the balls given each evening at different hotels we were to be the grand attraction-think of all this and at our age! Why couldn't it last always?-that all the would be too much. Oh, joy!
 Now let youthful imaginations picture to themselves the scene of our arrival amid the noise and dust of impatient horses and quick flashing wheels, the crash of brass
 band on the hotel piazza and in the midst of the chatter and buzz of merry thousands then and there assem- bled for the express purpose of a look at us. A sudden and fattering
 hush as>unmistakable as we strode up into view. we were brown and sinewy and not altogether bad looking lot. As we swung along two by two we caught welcome glan- ces that hinted approval from merry-mak- ing faces, and there isn't much doubt that the ribbons with long ends, carrying for
 device huge gilt U in the front of each hat, futtered over broad breasts harmless ly inflated and similarly but immeasurably
 tickled with~the evident sensation caused by our arrival. And at night and every l night-especially the first short hours of cred into endless room with long rows of cots, honest sleep had to put up with l what it could get, and in our quarters was obliged to take it's chances, for with scant ceremony it was made to give place to un- iyersal gayety. And as the boys said trus ly enough, we could sleep at home. but neither by day or by night could we find ] such jolly and abounding fun anywhere else, so that we set about to "carpe diem" | with such industry and perseverance, that l the next morning found us at 1t still and | innocent of quiet rest, but guilty ef every known variety of inofensive mischief Now it is also desired to record that, | contrary to frequent experience, all prCm-
 ises made by the skilltul advance agent | were redeemed, carried out to the letter and actually excelled, even to the number | of successive dinners daily served. l Our rival, the Harvard eight-oar "Onei-
 da.n counted among it's crew General Paine,
 owner of the s'Mayflower," and who this
 year again, just as it was last season, is cor dialIy and whole-heartedly reckoned on by the people as it's defender against threat ol
 struggle made by any British cutter, and i'
 looked upon as the model American yachts.
 man. The New York Yacht club-nomina
 guardian of the "Queen's cup"-for reasons
 that are sufficiently obvious, makes no seri
 ous effort at defense of the trophy left in it
 keeping, but relies wholly or entirely upol
 this same yachting expert. It might be wei